Alcalá Norte brought their full six-piece presence to Bilbao’s Iglesia de la Encarnación for a Live on KEXP session recorded in partnership with BIME, and the setting couldn’t be more fitting. The Spanish outfit moved through five tracks including “La Sangre del Pobre,” “420N,” “La Calle Elfo,” “Westminster,” and “La Vida Cañón,” with Álvaro Rivas on vocals, Jaime Barbosa on drums, Carlos Elías and René del Hoyo on guitars, Pablo Prieto on bass, and Laura de Diego on keys delivering a performance that showcases exactly why this band commands attention. Intimate, precise, and loaded with atmosphere, it’s the kind of session KEXP does better than anyone.
Alcalá Norte Delivered a Stunning Live on KEXP Set at Bilbao’s Iglesia de la Encarnación
Las Vegas Producer-Turned-Artist Sylvaner Goes Deep and Dance-Floor Ready on New Single “Plastic Love”
Sylvaner grew up inside music. His father ran several record stores, and whatever vinyl passed through the house became the soundtrack to his childhood. That immersion eventually pulled him from engineering other artists’ records into building a sound entirely his own, and “Plastic Love” is the most fully realized version of that sound yet.
The new single started as a brooding, Chicago house-inspired demo, something Sylvaner describes as sounding “like you were in the bathroom while the club was going on outside.” After completing most of his album, he recognized there was nothing to move to, and rebuilt the track from the inside out. The result is a steady-beat, groove-driven piece layered with ethereal vocals and textural synths that pulls in two directions at once, desire and emotional absence held in deliberate tension.
The lyrical thesis is direct. “I need a plastic love is the thesis of the lyrical content,” he explains. “It came from a place where I didn’t want to settle with someone, but I still wanted my fun. I knew I wasn’t alone in feeling that, especially growing up in Las Vegas. But I also acknowledge the sacrifice and the emptiness in that choice.”
“Plastic Love” follows his debut single “Pentimento,” a soulful, minimalist self-produced introduction that established his emotional instincts and meticulous studio craft. This new track expands the picture considerably, revealing an artist willing to pivot hard and lean into contradiction. It’s made for the dance floor and built to linger well after the night ends.
Sylvaner is one to watch, and “Plastic Love” is out now.
German Death Metal Force Rise of Kronos Unleash “Conception Of Humanity” From Upcoming Album ‘Slaves Of Time’
Rise of Kronos are building toward something heavy. The German death metal outfit have released “Conception Of Humanity,” their second single from the upcoming album ‘Slaves Of Time,’ and it picks up exactly where the crushing title track left off. Relentless riffs, brutal intensity, a suffocating atmosphere, and lyrics that dig into humanity’s destructive nature and the loss of control over its own creation. This is uncompromising death metal with genuine thematic weight.
The single pushes deeper into the sonic identity the band established with “Slaves Of Time,” reinforcing the album’s core preoccupations with time, decay, and existential oppression. Rise of Kronos aren’t just writing heavy music, they’re building a cohesive, dense world around it, and “Conception Of Humanity” makes that case convincingly.
‘Slaves Of Time’ combines modern death metal aggression with massive grooves and an ominous atmosphere that holds across the full twelve-track running time. Pre-orders are live now via the official Rise of Kronos merch store at riseofkronos.bandcamp.com, with exclusive bundles and limited editions available.
‘Slaves Of Time’ Tracklisting:
01 Heresy
02 Conception Of Humanity
03 Escalate The Rot
04 Slaves Of Time
05 Custodians Of Reality
06 Lit The Sky
07 Black Breath
08 Into The Ashes
09 Poison Of The Gods
10 Chords Of Dismemberment
11 The Liberation
12 Phantom Eternity
Swedish Singer-Songwriter Boy In Space Returns With “Who’s Crying When I’m Leaving?” and a Debut Album on the Way
Boy In Space is back, and the return feels earned. Swedish singer-songwriter Robin Lundbäck has released “Who’s Crying When I’m Leaving?”, a emotionally layered new single that opens on delicate acoustic guitar before blooming into something fuller, driven by drums, violin, and the subtle warmth of a tambourine. It’s pop-country-tinged and deeply personal, landing squarely in the space Boy In Space has always owned.
The track reflects on the loneliness that comes with constant movement, the quiet cost of always being somewhere new, and the longing for stillness. Lundbäck writes from lived experience, and it shows.
“Since I was young, I’ve always moved and travelled a lot,” he shares. “I’ve had to learn how to let go and detach, not because things got ugly, just because distance slowly does its thing. Now in later years I’ve come to realize how important it is to dig my feet into the dirt next to the people I love.”
“Who’s Crying When I’m Leaving?” follows his 2025 EP ‘The Butterfly Affect’, where Lundbäck leaned into a warmer, more organic sound, a direction he’s pushed even further here. With over half a billion streams behind him and breakout tracks like “Cold” and “7UP” already in the canon, the arrival of his debut album feels like a genuine moment. Recorded with a live band and built around raw self-reflection, the record is coming later this year.
Boy In Space is one of the most compelling singer-songwriters working in this space right now, and “Who’s Crying When I’m Leaving?” is out now.
Brat Punk Firebrand DELILAH BON Drops Protest Track “ILLEGAL ALIENS” and Announces Leeds Charity Show
DELILAH BON has released “ILLEGAL ALIENS,” a protest track she’s been holding for a year, and the timing is deliberate. The brat punk artist wrote the song in direct response to the treatment of immigrants in the United States, sitting on it under pressure to self-censor while her U.S. tour was still on the table. With that tour now cancelled, she’s done waiting. Listen here.
“Seeing the brutality towards immigrants, many of which have lived and worked in the US their whole lives, imprisoned in these inhumane camps breaks my heart,” Bon says. “I wrote this song a year ago today and after cancelling my US tour it felt like a moment to finally release it. This song is about activism and protest, pointing the finger at those that divide us and uniting together in our collective rage.”
All digital download proceeds go directly to MIRAC, the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee, a grassroots volunteer organization supporting immigrant families through food banks, legal advice, and protest organization. A selection of back catalogue tracks will also direct proceeds to MIRAC throughout the month. The track has already been censored and blocked in certain regions, with audio muted on social media in some areas, which only underscores why Bon felt the release couldn’t wait any longer.
The U.S. tour cancellation came after fans raised serious safety concerns, flagging the risks for a diverse, LGBTQ+-heavy crowd touring with a small party amid escalating ICE activity. “My crowds are very diverse in the US,” Bon explains. “I have many POC fans that are in hiding, many trans fans who are afraid of being body searched by federal agents and it filled me with rage imagining my shows becoming a target.”
In response, DELILAH BON is organising a charity show in Leeds in May 2026, dedicated to her U.S. fanbase. The show will be professionally filmed and recorded, with a possible HD livestream for overseas audiences, and will form part of a new documentary she’s currently developing. Full details are coming soon.
“ILLEGAL ALIENS” is out now. Download it, support MIRAC, and watch for the Leeds show announcement.
South Wales Pop Dynamo MACY Turns Awkward Small Talk Into an Irresistible Anthem on “Please Keep Talking”
MACY is back with “Please Keep Talking,” a new single that does something genuinely fun with a universal experience. The South Wales pop artist takes the cringe-worthy reality of being stuck in an awkward conversation and spins it into a tongue-in-cheek pop anthem with real bite. It’s sharp, self-aware, and immediately likeable.
The track was written alongside Owain Felstead and producer Zak Lloyd at Birchwood Recording Studio in Newport. Lloyd brings serious credentials to the session, with work connected to the Taylor Swift Reputation Tour alongside credits with Calum Scott, Charli XCX, Wonko, and Keane, and television placements on America’s Got Talent and The Voice. That level of production polish is audible throughout, giving MACY’s vibrant vocals an arena-ready backdrop that never loses its playfulness.
Coming from Blaenau Gwent, an area where pathways into the music industry are limited, MACY has built her momentum the hard way, writing and recording largely from her bedroom and earning every platform she’s landed on. BBC Radio Wales A-List placements and a debut on BBC Radio 1’s Breakfast Show signal that the wider industry is paying attention.
Her live résumé backs it up. MACY has performed at the BAFTA Cymru Awards, played the Principality Stadium to 50,000 people, appeared at Focus Wales, 110 Above Festival, Swansea Fringe, and the international M For Montreal Festival. She’s also curated her own Cardiff mini-festival, PLANET POP, and performed live alongside Emeli Sandé on the Scott Quinnell Christmas Show.
“Please Keep Talking” is out now, and it’s the kind of track that sticks from the first listen.
Skate-Punk Outfit TeethOut and KINLEY Just Transformed Mazzy Star’s “Fade Into You” Into Something Completely Their Own
TeethOut have revisited their cover of Mazzy Star’s “Fade Into You,” and this time they brought the right collaborator. The skate-punk outfit has released a reworked version of the track featuring PEI indie-pop artist KINLEY, upgrading a cover that originally appeared on their 2025 EP ‘Here We Go’ into something that finally matches the vision they had from the start. Listen here.
The original version was already a bold move, taking one of the most atmospheric songs of the ’90s and rebuilding it as a fast, melodic pop-punk anthem. It worked. But TeethOut knew something was missing, and once KINLEY entered the conversation, the answer became clear.
“We always loved how big and anthemic it felt,” the band says. “But it still felt like it was missing something. Once we started talking about bringing KINLEY in, it became obvious what that missing piece was.”
The result doesn’t dial anything back. TeethOut’s punchy riffs, driving tempos, and sing-along choruses lock in with KINLEY’s melodic instincts and pop sensibility, producing a version that hits hard and lands emotionally. Two distinct musical worlds, one track that earns every second of its runtime.
“This version finally sounds like what we heard in our heads from the start,” the band adds. “It’s loud, melodic, and emotional in a way that feels complete now.”
The reworked “Fade Into You” featuring KINLEY is out now on all streaming platforms and Bandcamp.
Ben Folds Takes the “With a Piano” Solo Tour Across the U.S. This Spring and Summer
Ben Folds and a piano. That’s the whole setup, and it’s more than enough. The “Ben Folds with a Piano” solo tour rolls through the U.S. this spring and summer, hitting an impressive mix of performing arts centres, theatres, and intimate venues across two distinct stretches in May and June. Few artists can command a room with nothing but keys and a voice the way Folds does, and this tour is built around exactly that.
The run follows the July 2025 release of ‘Ben Folds Live with the National Symphony Orchestra,’ a record that captured what Folds does best at full orchestral scale. The solo tour strips it back down, and that contrast makes these shows feel all the more essential.
Several dates feature special collaborative billing. The Orlando stop at the Walt Disney Theater pairs Folds with The Orlando Symphony, the Salt Lake City date brings in The Utah Symphony, and the New Jersey shows at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center and State Theatre New Jersey feature The New Jersey Symphony. The Los Angeles date at The Ford adds comedian Alex Edelman to the bill, making it one of the more unexpected pairings of the summer.
The first U.S. segment is already underway, with the second leg launching June 5 at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. That stretch runs through Vermont, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, New Jersey, and Ohio before closing June 17 at The Agora Ballroom in Cleveland.
Tickets are on sale now via Ticketmaster and Ben Folds’ official website.
“Ben Folds with a Piano” 2026 Tour Dates:
April 29 — Orlando, FL @ Walt Disney Theater at Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts (with The Orlando Symphony)
May 1 — Greenville, SC @ Peace Concert Hall
May 2 — Rocky Mount, VA @ The Harvester Performance Center
May 3 — Richmond, VA @ Carpenter Theatre at Dominion Energy Center
May 5 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Ford (with Alex Edelman)
May 7 — Norwalk, CT @ District Music Hall
May 8 — Brookville, NY @ Tilles Center for the Performing Arts
May 9 — Peekskill, NY @ Paramount Hudson Valley
May 12 — Salt Lake City, UT @ Abravanel Hall (with The Utah Symphony)
May 14 — Santa Fe, NM @ The Lensic Performing Arts Center
May 16 — El Cajon, CA @ The Magnolia
May 17 — Corona, CA @ Dos Lagos Amphitheater
June 5 — Great Barrington, MA @ Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center
June 6 — Rutland, VT @ Paramount Theatre
June 7 — Keene, NH @ The Colonial Theatre
June 9 — Munhall, PA @ Carnegie of Homestead Music Hall
June 10 — Huntington, WV @ Keith-Albee Performing Arts Center
June 11 — Reading, PA @ Santander Performing Arts Center
June 13 — Newark, NJ @ New Jersey Performing Arts Center (with The New Jersey Symphony)
June 14 — New Brunswick, NJ @ State Theatre New Jersey (with The New Jersey Symphony)
June 16 — Cincinnati, OH @ Taft Theatre
June 17 — Cleveland, OH @ The Agora Ballroom
Vans Warped Tour Is Back With Five 2026 Stops and Jimmy Eat World Leading the Charge
Vans Warped Tour has five editions mapped out for 2026, and the lineup is already shaping up into something worth getting loud about. Jimmy Eat World headlines all five stops, a strong anchor for a festival that defined alternative rock summers for a generation. Washington D.C., Long Beach, Montreal, Mexico City, and Orlando are all on the calendar, covering ground the festival hasn’t touched in years.
The confirmed artist roster is growing fast. Dance Gavin Dance, New Found Glory, Glassjaw, and Papa Roach are in. So are Atreyu, Third Eye Blind, The Story So Far, The Early November, Bryce Vine, Girlfriends, Holy Wars, Winona Fighter, and Anthony Green. More names are coming, with organizers releasing additions steadily and a full lineup reveal for each stop expected soon.
Warped Tour launched in 1995 and spent over two decades launching careers and delivering some of the most chaotic, communal live music experiences the rock world has ever seen. After its final full-scale run in 2018 and a 30th anniversary edition in 2025 featuring Avril Lavigne, A Day To Remember, Ice Nine Kills, and All Time Low, the 2026 edition pushes the festival into new territory with its first-ever Montreal and Mexico City stops.
The lineup will keep building. This is just the beginning, and it’s already a compelling reason to start planning your summer.
Tickets and full lineup details are available at the official Vans Warped Tour website.
Vans Warped Tour 2026 Lineup By Stop (So Far):
Washington, D.C. (June 13-14): Jimmy Eat World, Dance Gavin Dance, New Found Glory, Glassjaw, The Early November, Bryce Vine, The Story So Far, Big Ass Truck, Holy Wars, Girlfriends, Third Eye Blind
Long Beach, CA (July 25-26): Jimmy Eat World, Dance Gavin Dance, Glassjaw, Papa Roach, Winona Fighter, The Early November, The Story So Far, Big Ass Truck, Holy Wars, Girlfriends
Montreal, QC (August 21-22): Jimmy Eat World, Atreyu, Big Ass Truck
Mexico City, Mexico (September 12-13): Jimmy Eat World, New Found Glory, Glassjaw, Papa Roach, Atreyu, Winona Fighter, The Story So Far, Girlfriends
Orlando, FL (November 14-15): Jimmy Eat World, Dance Gavin Dance, New Found Glory, Glassjaw, The Early November, Bryce Vine, Big Ass Truck, Holy Wars, Girlfriends, Third Eye Blind, Anthony Green
Ruth Slenczynska, the Last Living Link to Rachmaninoff, Has Left Us at 101
Ruth Slenczynska was born in 1925 and died on April 22, 2026, and in between those two dates she lived what might be the most astonishing life in the history of classical piano. She made her concert debut at four years old. She performed with a full orchestra in Paris at seven. By ten, she was earning more than the President of the United States. A Pathé newsreel filmed when she was five noted that the toddler had already “surprised musical critics by her playing of Beethoven.” She was not just a prodigy. She was, by any measure, one of the most remarkable musicians who ever lived.
She was also, by her own account, a child who suffered enormously to get there. Her father Josef made her practise nine hours a day, every single day, and his methods went well beyond discipline into something far darker. She wrote about it all in her 1957 memoir, Forbidden Childhood, with a candour that was almost shocking for its era. At fifteen, she walked away from everything, enrolled at Berkeley, and tried to become someone other than the girl her father had built. That she came back to music at all, on her own terms, with warmth and joy intact, is the real miracle of her story.
The connection to Rachmaninoff alone would have secured her place in music history. She first met him at nine years old, stepping in to replace him at a concert after he was sidelined by an elbow injury. He pointed a long finger down at the small girl at his door and said, “You mean that plays the piano?” She played for him, transposed instantly when he asked, and a friendship was born that lasted the rest of his life. He gifted her a Fabergé egg necklace that she wore for the remaining ninety-plus years of her life. She was, at the time of her death, his last surviving pupil, a living thread connecting the twenty-first century to the golden age of pianism.
She performed for five US Presidents, played a four-hand Mozart duet with Harry Truman at the White House, and was present at Kennedy’s inauguration. She studied alongside Samuel Barber and heard his Adagio for Strings in a classroom before it even had a title. She toured with the Boston Pops, taught at Southern Illinois University, wrote textbooks that are still in print, and uploaded Beethoven sonatas to YouTube during the 2020 lockdown to celebrate the composer’s 250th anniversary because that is simply who she was: someone who believed music was for sharing, always.
In 2022, at the age of 97, she went back into the studio and recorded My Life in Music for Decca Classics, her first album in nearly sixty years. Her former pupil Shelly Moorman-Stahlman recalled that even in her final days she was “particularly energetic and mentally clear” and had played the piano just days before she passed. Before recording her favourite Chopin prelude for that album, she turned quietly and said she would like that particular take played when she ascended into heaven. We hope they’re playing it now.